Coming Soon: The Tops in 2009

By the end of this week — after I definitively determine "Crazy Heart's" worth or possible lack of — I'm bringing you the Top Ten Films of 2009 list.

I've got a week left to really think about this. Let the films of 2009 sink in. It was a decent year, what with Anderson's triumphant return, Pixar's personal comeback, and Michael Bay getting laughed it. There will be a top ten, an honor roll, and of course an admittance of glaring omissions from films I haven't seen. Anything I need to catch before the weekend? Let me know. Do it in the comments. Do it. In the comments.

Forget best of the decade stuff. I like, live in the now man! That, and I need a few months to reflect. In due time, I'll pitch a VH1-type retrospective on the oughts.

Lost my train of thought.

OH! The Top Films of 2009. Coming Soon.

Here's a sneak peek at what's coming, from what happened:

Post Stuff: "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe"

Like the title says. First, watch it and take a bite — free of context:

For the second part, CLICK HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5PuPRkA7JU&feature=related

This is a time when Werner Herzog was famous not for "Grizzly Man" and "Port of Call New Orleans." This is somewhat of a promo reel for Errol Morris's first big film, before he was the noted documentarian that he is today. This is Werner Herzog, making good on his promise to eat a shoe if Morris created a movie. And it's one nasty-ass, ratty old shoe. Les Blank crafts a surreal comedy of conviction.

"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" just goes to show the mindset of some of the most talented directors, and how film-making can a seriously odd profession. But like Werner points out early, it's a helluva lot better than TV.

But make it to the end, with Herzog's diatribe on the values of film, such as insight, changed perspective, and the absurdity of it all as well. Plus, he does eat that show.

Capsule: "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. A-.

"But seriously. What's with the fucking iguanas?"

Perhaps the most fun I've had at a movie in '09, "Bad Lieutenant" is a gonzo good time. Or, at least it's as good a time as one might have watching Nic Cage go oxicontin crazy. Which is actually quite fun. Whereas Abel Ferrara's "Lieutenant" was dour and poetic, Herzog's adaptation (in name only, really) is cynical, comical and a great study of institutional failures. Using a decaying, post-Katrina landscape to show Cage's Liutenant McDonough crazy trip, this is the best time you'll ever have at a cliched, independent drug movie. Or, Herzog rules.

Worth its weight in Peruvian blow - in the 45-minute post-film conversation I had with my sister and her fiancee, we touched upon:

- How fucked up Katrina and the police are.

- Nic Cage's posture and posturing, and just how nuts he is.

- Accepting the fact that Nic Cage is a weird, but truly talented man.

- The over-the-top nature of the humor, and how well it worked. Like pointing guns at the feeble.

- The Iguanas.

- The Soul. It's still dancing. SHOOT HIM AGAIN!

Find it. See it. This is gonna be waaaay limited. But it's so worthwhile. Fun.